Rashard
Rashard, commonly known as Shard'''Song of the Summer King, Page 1, is the main protagonist of the Summer King Chronicles arc. He is the current king of the Silver Isles pride and is also known as '''The Stormwing, The Summer King '''or '''Star King, Shard of Sun and The Star-sent. Information Description Shard is a gray gryfonSong of the Summer King, Page 3 with moss green eyes like his mother and his uncle. As a Vanir, he has sleeker and thinner wings than an Aesir. Compared to a full grown Aesir, he may come off as small or scrawny, but his thin build makes him rather fast and a better flier than any Aesir and even most Vanir. Personality Before Shard met Catori, he is a little too prideful and does his best to serve Sverin. However, he does not like arrogant gryfons such as Halvden, and is much more reserved than the green gryfon. When he meets the aforementioned wolf, he becomes much more humble and somewhat of a pacifist. He is shown to dislike it when his subjects call him "sire" or "my lord", as he isn't used to being shown respect. During The Salmon Run, he is insecure about his position as king, thinking that he might become a tyrant like Sverin was. Role As the Summer King, Rashard is supposed to bring peace to the Aesir and Vanir after The Conquering. He is also the prince of the Vanir, which he does not discover until near the end of Song of the Summer King, and at the end of By the Silver Wind, he becomes the king of the Vanir. He is also a seer, and was the reason that Rhydda gave up on her hate and pursuit of the Red Kings. History 'Entire History' In The Summer King Chronicles Arc ''Song of the Summer King Rashard is now ten years old, and is preparing to take place in The Hunt in order to prove to Sverin that unlike the other Vanir, he is trustworthy. During the hunt, he meets the wolf princess Catori (who will later become a friend of his). He is untrustworthy of her, wanting to goad her so he can have her pelt, but she tells him how to defeat the boar Lapu. After the hunt, he is accepted into the pride, but is curious about the earthwords he spoke to Lapu. Because of this, he returns to the Star Isle in order to find Catori and ask her, but instead meets her brothers Ahote and Ahanu. Angry at Shard for what the gryfons did, they run him off a cliff where he nearly drowns. He is rescued by his (unknown at the time) uncle Stigr, who guides him back towards Sun Isle. He tells Shard that if he wishes to learn Vanir skills to better serve his king, to return to Black Rock under the full moon. Shard then goes to Sverin in order to tell him about this experience, and the Red King appoints him as the leader of Windwater, a proposed gryfon colony so that the gryfons can rule all the isles, and not just the Sun Isle. Unbeknownst to Shard, however, Windwater is a disguised exile for the gryfons the king doesn't like. During the first day of leadership, Shard almost immediately gets into a fight with Hallr. Deciding that he needs to learn skills in order to prove himself, Shard goes to Black Rock, where Stigr teaches him. Later, Shard defeats Halvden in a mock spar, and seems to earn the respect of Kenna. The violet gryfess flirts with him, hoping that she could be the mate of the future king's wingbrother, but Shard turns her down. He goes to Stigr again and tells him that he can't come anymore because Kenna knows about his flying at night. Stigr seems betrayed, and leaves Shard. During the Daynight, Ragna sings the Song of the Summer King after Hallr is killed and Sverin declares war on the wolves, hoping to call out Rashard, but Sverin names his son as the Summer King instead hoping to quell unrest, but the Vanir know this isn't true, along with Kjorn himself. Shard goes to warn the wolves, and Stigr unintentionally reveals to Shard that he is the Vanir prince and the true Summer King. After returning to Sun Isle, he is attacked by Kjorn who thinks he is a traitor. Shard tells Kjorn about his forbidden Vanir activities, and Kjorn tells Shard that Maja, Halvden's mother, left the pride after leaving a fish outside Sverin's den. The wolves, thinking that Shard is leading them into a trap, attack the Sun Isle where Sverin kills Helaku. Shard, wanting to end the war, challenges Sverin. He drags the Aesir out into the sea, and dives in letting the pride think that he's dead. Rashard knew that he had the opportunity to kill Sverin but chooses not to do to the Red King being the father of his wing-brother. During his time in the sea, he meets his father who tells him to follow his vision of a white mountain in a distant land. He flies out of the sea, and later meets with Catori, Maja and the exile Dagr who tell him that they will find the lost Vanir for him. The book ends with Shard and Stigr flying to Star Isle. Skyfire At the beginning of the book, Rashard travels to the White Mountains in order to pursue his visions further. There, he meets the same snowy owl that helped him find the wolves in the first book, and she leads him to Aodh. Aodh sings a song to him, but they are interrupted as Einarr tries to attack and kill the great beast, who spares Einarr at Shard's pleading. Einarr tells Shard that the pride was starving, and thinks about telling Sverin that he Rashard lives. Shard tells Einarr that his father and brother live, hoping that this will stop the gryfon from telling Sverin. After returning to Star Isle, he feasts with the wolves and tells his uncle, Catori and Ahanu about his experience on the mountain. The skyfire then flies over them, and Shard knows that this is a sign for him to fly over the sea. During his experience, he meets an albatross who he names Windwalker, and manages to fall Nameless. He arrives in the Winderost and saves a young huntress named Lisbet from a painted dog. He also meets two ruddy gryfesses named Brynja and Valdis, who take him to a cave where his uncle is waiting for them. The next day, the huntresses take them to the Dawn Spire, where they meet the current king, Orn and Esla, Elena's sister and thus Kjorn's aunt. He challenges Asvander after he insults Shard and his uncle. Shard loses to Asvander, who tries to break his wing, but Stigr defeats the young Lakelander without a problem. ''More coming soon! ''A Shard of Sun ''Flying in soon! ''By the Silver Wind ''Flying in soon! In The Dragon Star Saga (Arc) ''Rise of the Dragon Star Rashard leaves Embra in charge of the Silver Isles when he and Brynja bring their party to the Vanheim Shore for the upcoming Greatmeet. During the Greatmeet, Rashard encounters an imperiled Ren who is in danger of drowining. Shard helps Ren by teaching rher some swimming lessons. After assisting the younger Aesir, Rashard suggests learning swimming lessons from Keta. Rashard and Brynja plan to return in the upcoming fall since they have to travel to the Sunland soon after the Greatmeet but their return has been revealed to be delayed near the end of Rise of The Dragon Star. In the Short Stories The Starward Light ''Flying in soon! ''Beneath the Windward Sun ''Flying in soon! ''The Salmon Run ''Flying in soon! Relationships Kjorn Kjorn is Rashard's wingbrother. The two share a close bond, as they were raised together as brothers. Shard and Kjorn are very close friends during the first book as revealed when Kjorn would lie to his father and king to protect Shard and would fly across a sea to find his lost wingbrother. They have a falling out after Shard's forbidden Vanir activities are brought into light and Kjorn refuses to listen to and trust his wingbrother. After Shard betrays him, Kjorn has mixed feelings, but is still willing to find him. They rekindle their bonds, and eventually work together to restore peace to the Winderost and Silver Isles. Sverin During the first book, Rashard looks up to Sverin and desperately tries to prove his loyalty to him. He constantly fears that the slightest mistake will cause him to be exiled from the pride, even though he is Kjorn's wingbrother. After discovering the truth about the Conquering, Rashard still respects Sverin, but is angry at the way he oppressed the Vanir. Shard's Wingbrotherhood to Kjorn is what prompted Shard to let go of Sverin near the end of the first book instead of killing him. After Shard returns to the Silver Isles, he agrees to spare Sverin's life after witnessing the former king's redemption. He does not wish to paint Sverin as a tyrant in his stories to Embra, thinking that she is too young for them. Caj As his nest-father, Rashard often feared him and believed him to be one of the strongest gryfons he knew. Rashard always believed that Caj would distance himself from him because Shard wasn't Caj's true son. However, Shard (having already known his real father's voice) was the one who pushed Caj away instead. Shard looks up to Caj who is his nest-father and mentor and thinks of him as a father-figure (second to only Stigr). During his time as a king, it is implied that Shard takes the advice of Caj very often. Sigrun Stigr At first, Rashard is wary of Stigr after he meets him, but eventually learns that he can learn great Vanir gifts from him in order to serve his king. He uses Stigr in order to gain these powers, and is dismayed when he learns that he cannot go back to learn from him anymore after Kenna finds out about his nightly excursions. He also feels angry at himself for using Stigr, as Stigr knew what Shard was doing, but still taught him. After his uncle tells him of his true heritage, Rashard grows closer to Stigr, and the black gryfon plays as somewhat of a father-figure towards Shard. Shard is distraught over the fact that his uncle will have to stay in the Winderost, instead of coming back home to help advise him. Thyra Thyra and Shard have a very close relationship, due to being nest-siblings. Ragna At first, Shard was shown to be somewhat wary of Ragna, as she was the queen of the Vanir. Brynja During Skyfire, Rashard is very much in love with Brynja, much to the chagrin of Stigr. He eventually gains help from Brynja's wingsister Dagny in an attempt to court her. Brynja, however, was betrothed to Asvander and was unable to mate with him. Despite this, Brynja still liked Shard. During A Shard of Sun, Brynja helps Kjorn to find Shard, hoping that she could tell him how she truly feels, and the two of them meet again. Brynja tells Shard that she will become his queen. Catori When Rashard first meets Catori, he attempts to goad her into attacking him so he could bring her pelt back to the king and Kjorn. However, she instead tells him how to defeat Lapu. Over the course of the first book, Rashard is torn between becoming friends with her, and staying loyal to his king, but eventually becomes very good friends with her. He shares all of his prophetic dreams with her, as the two of them are both seers. Catori often counsels him about his dreams, as shown in Skyfire when she advises him about his experience in the White Mountains. Ahote Rashard's relationship with Ahote is mainly hostile. Even when Shard is revealed to be the Vanir prince, Ahote still does not trust Shard's intentions. At the end, when he dies, Ahote seems to forgive Shard. Ahanu Like his older brother, Ahanu's first impression of Shard is a gryfon thief that must be killed. He attacks Shard twice (when Shard tries to find Catori and later when Helaku orders him), but after both his father and brother die, their relationship becomes friendly; Ahanu is Shard's earthbrother, while Shard is Ahanu's windbrother. Asvander Hikaru Halvden Family Tree Genetic Adoptive List of all Family Members Trivia *Rashard is the only full-blooded Vanir kit who stayed in the Silver Isles after The Conquering.Song of the Summer King *The name Rashard means "Brave Ruler". It is also Old Norse for 'son of a dead king'. ** Both of these fit him, as Rashard had to be brave to save his pride, and his father, Baldr, is dead. *He is noted to look almost exactly like his father.Song of the Summer King, Page 44 *He is the first character to have a nickname (Shard). Other characters with a nickname are Rowan possibly Mist, Halla (Hal) and Embra (Firewing). *He once defeated Asvander in a spar. *He is tied with Stigr, Sverin, Halvden and Astri for having the most wingbrothers at two (Kjorn and Hikaru). Quotes ''Song of the Summer King'' Quotes ''Skyfire'' Quotes ''A Shard of Sun'' Quotes ''By the Silver Wind'' Quotes ''The Starward Light'' Quotes ''The Salmon Run'' Quotes Gallery Canon Shard.png|Rashard Ref (by QueenClam) sotsk_revamped_shard_detail_web_by_nambroth-dcm0uth.jpg|Shard of the second edition cover of Song of the Summer King silverwind_shard_detail_web_by_nambroth-d9x1x3m.jpg|Shard on the cover of By the Silver Wind A2KKLTVnTqP3Uzo4E8khamtAuXswEbcOALYGzmmsrFqBmHCjHmcQtAgYJoKoBu7M.jpg|Shard with his Family RoTdS comic page.jpg 68a54e56089906a86fa8dfcbd7583c33-d4z2b9p.jpg|Rashard and Catori on the first edition cover of Song of the Summer King Fanart Cat shard by lilowlaroo-d7lks34.png|Rashard and Catori (by Lilowaroo) Rashard the Summer King.png|Rashard (by QueenClam) Shard by mistywren-d4z595j.png|Rashard (by mistywren) Shard doodle by comixqueen-d6z9h4l pnghaha.png|Rashard (by comixqueen) Stormwing s dive by iceblitzwolfen-d7izizc.jpg|Rashard's Dive (by iceblitzwolfen) The stormwing by theatrenewt-d3bihht.jpg|The Stormwing (by Jess E. Owen) Wingbrothers by simperingidiot-d72myi0.png|Rashard and Kjorn (by simperingidiot) Winterborn by dot doll-d8757di.jpg|Rashard and Hikaru (by dot doll) He Sees all Like the Sky(Rashard).png|He Sees all Like the Sky Series: Rashard (by FlametheCharizard) Rashard.png|by QueenClam Citations References Notes While the two are wingbrothers, they could technically be called nest-brothers as well, as they were raised in the same nest together. 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